A viral video of an H-6K bomber released by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force on Saturday has made headlines in many Western media outlets. They allege that the video shows “simulated attack on a US Air Force base on Guam”. This is over-interpretation.
The video actually lucidly demonstrates China's capabilities to launch counterattacks. It is proof of the PLA's resolve to deal with any military provocation. The scene of exploration in it is designed for those who are up to something no good. When a certain country points a gun at China, sends aircraft to approach its territory, takes China as a target of simulated attacks, and repeatedly provokes China, China will certainly respond with a display of what we are capable of.
The video is merely an exhibition of China's counterbalance capabilities. It doesn't mean it is targeting certain troops. Nor will it initiate an attack against a certain position, or specifically deter a certain country.
Nonetheless, if the US military sends bombers from its Pacific bases to deter China and bring direct threats, the PLA's H-6K bombers are indeed capable of launching effective counterattacks against these bases, frontier deployments, and forward bases. This is what the PLA Air Force's video wants to convey, in my take.
Why have many Western media outlets speculated that the exploration scene in the video is at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam? The reason is simple: They need an imaginary target when they analyse the PLA Air…
